Scared for her life, the actress darted to her roof and hid behind the awning, where a local blogger took this revealing picture.

Ms Rivera, who had a bit part in the 2012 film Sparkle staring Whitney Houston, called the police who quickly responded and used a ladder to get her down from her dangerous hiding spot.

After getting Ms Rivera to safety, police officers managed to coax Hicks down and arrest him (Picture: Venice 311)

She told CBS LA that she heard the man breaking through the panels on the side of her house and trying to unlock the door.

‘Once I saw him in the house, I knew that we both couldn’t be there,’ she added.

‘I knew that I didn’t want to have a confrontation with him of any sort, you know, not knowing what his intention was.’

Fearing that the presence of the police would force Hicks to try and hide in the same place as her, Ms Rivera said: ‘There was no safely jumping off the roof or coming down from the roof at that point.’

After saving Ms Rivera the police were able to convince Hicks to come down safely at which point he was arrested and charged with burglary.

Melora Rivera feared the suspect would be scared of the police and find her hiding spot (Picture: Venice 311)